16 Powerful People in Melbourne

Who are the people shaping Australia's cultural heartland? In January, we start counting down the Top 10 Most Powerful People in Melbourne. Here, Andrew Crook presents the shortlist.

Andrew Demetriou

As the intimidating head of the most powerful sport in the nation's most sports mad city, Demetriou drives a hard bargain -- whether its player payments, TV rights or disciplining betting cheats. He's "a master of his domain", says a prominent radio broadcaster. A domain, it seems, that's ever expanding and grabbing eyeballs by the bucketload.

Andrew McConnell, Chris Lucas and the Melbourne foodie mafia

The soft spoken McConnell packs a punch when Melbourne's massive foodie tribe starts salivating. With three top shelf establishments and more to come, McConnell and contemporaries like Pearl and Chin Chin owner Chris Lucas have fixed a hex on inner-suburban wallets. "Restaurants are the new theatre", says McConnell, and his rat pack's jus is smothered all over Melbourne's p(a)late.

Bill Oliver

Oliver can shut down construction sites in a flash and his band of hi-vis CFMEU hardmen are marching firmly in tune. While his mainstream union rivals take the low road, Oliver is on hand to extract cold hard cash from tight-fisted builders who'd really prefer a new Lexus. Foreign multinationals looking to build that next piece of Melburnian infrastructure should think twice. There will be blood.

Bill Shorten

From slathering Monash Uni's Menzies Building in ALP propaganda, to his controversial Maribyrnong preselection triumph and his marriage to the Governor-General's daughter, Shorten has been at the centre of Victorian union power in four different decades. There's only ever been one direction for Shorten, and that's straight to the Lodge, which he dreams of sidling into when the renos are complete. Will triangulate as Workplace Relations Minister to keep the powerful onside, and to bolster his own power.

Greg Davies

As Steve Bracks knows, the Police Association can make or break state governments with a well-timed strike but it's been Davies' dogged determination to get into the popular media -- nary a day goes by without a Herald Sun pull-quote -- that marks him as a worthy successor to Paul Mullett. Davies was the crucial link man in Sir Ken Jones' manoeuvring around the Simon Overland departure and regularly liaised with disgraced former Peter Ryan adviser Tristan Weston. "He plays it down, but he's a serious kingpin," says one Victorian opposition MP. We agree.

Harold Mitchell

He might bear only a passing resemblance to his pre-lap band self on the cover of autobiography Living Large, but the veteran ad-man's impact is getting bigger and bigger. With 400 staff and a $363 million merger with global ad giant Aegis in the bank, the affable Mitchell commands respect, whether tipping cash into culture and the arts, serving on the boards of the orchestra, the arts festival and the museums cheering the Melbourne Rebels over the line. He's also Melburnian of the Year.

Helen Silver

Ted Baillieu's right hand woman reigns over the Department of Premier and Cabinet, a bolstered role ever since her inimitable predecessor Terry Moran shot to prominence under Steve Bracks. A Productivity Commission guru who did time in the private sector at NAB, Silver has carried on Moran's reform legacy and emerged as a key Ted confident. If the premier decides to roll out the tanks in 2012, Silver will be marshalling the troops deep inside the VPS bunker.

Jeff Kennett

We had to put him on – the shockwaves from his time as a leader hell bent on reform ripple to this day. But is he still powerful? You bet he is. Jeff's byline appears in the city's biggest paper, his voice on its loudest radio station and his shorn head at every other ribbon cutting. Controversial (just ask the gay community) and as brash as ever, his just-completed term as president has left Hawthorn healthy with silverware on the mantelpiece. Still a force.

Marius Kloppers

The Big South African has made waves at the (former) Big Australian, particularly among the worker bees at BHP Billiton's glistening Lonsdale St headquarters (where he banned smelly lunches and iPods). His power stretches into pockets all over the globe, but he's also got a mandate to tell Canberra to pull its finger out. And he's done a pretty good job -- the federal government's mining tax pretty much has his fingerprints all over it and now his carbon price prognostications are now much more frequent.

Mike Smith

A massively-paid banking maestro with the PM on speed dial, hundreds of thousands of ANZ customers in the burbs depend on him to finance their small businesses. A FoM (Friend of Marius), Smith's $60 billion bank can put you in receivership if you get on its bad side. Just ask Gunns.

Neil Mitchell

When the workaholic Mitchell decides to train his gaze on a target, it's on. "He intuitively knows what makes Melbourne go off", says one former newspaper editor. For 1000 minutes a week Mitchell applies the blowtorch and lays out the red carpet, sometimes in the same interview.

Peter Blunden

The Managing Director of Australia's highest selling weekday tabloid group can make or break reputations with a click of the mouse -- literally given Blunden's rumoured direct line in to the Herald Sun's layout screens. Former editor Bruce Guthrie may have put him in a box, but Guthrie's unfair dismissal paved the way for two loyalists happy to assist with his agendas. Circulation declines and News of the World have removed the gloss but his paper rarely fails to deliver a conveyor belt of scalps. Just ask Simon Overland.

Robert Doyle

The failed Liberal leader who exited Spring Street as a lowly backbencher is now wearing the Mayoral robes and, some say, overshadowing his former factional enemy in the premier's chair. The media tart who's pressed nearly everyone's flesh may not have the numbers on council but is a cut-through advocate for his view of the city. Swanston Street renos are in and Occupy protesters are out -- if you don't like it, get out of the way.

(Sir) Rod Eddington

The man charged with keeping the world's powerful family honest on the News Corp board has so many fingers in so many pies (Infrastructure, Major Events, JP Morgan's local point man) that some say nearly all Melbourne's rivers of influence, besides the Yarra, run through his office. If Sir Rod flashes up on your iPhone, hit decline at your peril.

Ted Baillieu

He's Victoria's first Liberal premier since the rampaging Jeff but one leading businessman reckons he "lacks the ticker" to govern. Still, he's ensconced in 1 Treasury Place, oozes Establishment blue blood, and could remake the state if he decided to flick the switch to decision and delivery. One year into a four year term, and with the savvy duo of Michael Kapel and Tony Nutt working the backrooms, a new Baillieu dynasty might be about to dawn.